Solitude

(Ella
Wilcox)
Who is Ella Wheeler
Wilcox?
• She was born in the USA in
1850. She dies in 1919.
• She started writing poetry
at a young age and her work
highlight her belief that the
world needs more kindness
and compassion.
 • The speaker addresses the reader
directly.
• She states certain universal truths.
• She speaks of the universal human
condition in sharing joys and good
Summary times, but when a person goes
through tough times you are usually
alone.
• She also says that one must face
one’s problems instead of seeking
happiness through others.
Solitude
Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
Weep, and you weep alone.
For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth
But has trouble enough of its own.
Sing, and the hills will answer;
Sigh, it is lost on the air.
The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
But shrink from voicing care
Rejoice, and men will seek you;
Grieve, and they turn and go.
They want full measure of all your pleasure,
But they do not need your woe.
Be glad, and your friends are many;
Be sad, and you lose them all.
There are none to decline your nectared
wine,
But alone you must drink life’s gall.
Feast, and your halls are crowded;
Fast, and the world goes by.
Succeed and give, and it helps you live
But no man can help you die.
There is room in the halls of pleasure
For a long and lordly train,
But one by one we must all file on
Through the narrow aisle of pain.
 Form and structure
• 3 stanzas of 8 lines each
• Definite rhyme pattern:
abcbdefe
 This poem follows a strict structure.
 The three stanzas consist of 8 lines each and the same rhyming pattern is used throughout.
 The first two stanzas focus on attitude, behaviour, and actions.
 The last stanza focuses on the end of one’s life and suggests a particular approach to deal
with this inevitability.
 • Solitude > being alone or away from other
people / a sense of loneliness.
• Solitude > can imply being alone by choice >
not necessarily negative BUT it can have
connotations of isolation and loneliness.
• Maybe the title should rather have been
“loneliness”?
Title: Solitude • Loneliness is normally not a choice. It is
something that happens to you for various
reasons.
• Solitude is something that you choose > not
necessarily a bad thing.
 1)Laugh, and the world laughs with you;
2)Weep, and you weep alone.
3)For the sad old earth must borrow its mirth
4)But has trouble enough of its own.

• Opposite actions: laugh <> weep

• World = people > Synecdoche
• Synecdoche = a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice
versa > England lost by six wickets – English = the cricket team.
• Normally people would rather want to be with people who are happy than people who are
sad. People usually shy away from negativity.
• Sad old earth > personification
• Mirth = happiness
• The poet argues that earth has enough trouble of its own, thus it must borrow happiness
from elsewhere. The poet is implying that sadness is the natural state of the world.
 5)Sing, and the hills will answer;
6)Sigh, it is lost on the air.
7)The echoes bound to a joyful sound,
8)But shrink from voicing care
• Opposite images: sing <> sigh
• Personification + hyperbole: Hills > answer + sigh
• If you “sing” (happy) the hills will “answer” (be happy with you > almost like an echoe
coming back to you)
• If you “sigh” it drifts around in the air> the hills are not interested in sadness
• Personification > echoes are personified as being happy when they hear a joyful sound >
the echoes will repeat the sound eagerly
• However, there will be no reaction if the sound is not happy > the echoes will shrink
• The word “shrink” suggests that the world will not share your problems / issues / cares.
 9)Rejoice, and men will seek you;
10)Grieve, and they turn and go.
11)They want full measure of all your pleasure,
12)But they do not need your woe.

• Opposite images: rejoice <> grieve

• People want to be with you in good times, but they do not want to be around you in bad
times.
• Full measure = completely / everything
• People want to share in your pleasure but not in your sorrow.
13)Be glad, and your friends are many;
14)Be sad, and you lose them all.
15)There are none to decline your nectared wine,
16)But alone you must drink life’s gall.

• Opposite emotions: glad<>sad

• The speaker gives the reader some advice > If you want to have friends you
need to be “glad” (a happy person). If you are not, then you are going to lose
them.
• Decline = refuse
• Nectared wine = sweet wine > happiness > metaphor
• Gall = bitter taste
• “life’s gall” > sadness, poverty, loneliness (all the things that make us bitter) >
metaphor
 17)Feast, and your halls are crowded
18)Fast, and the world goes by.
19)Succeed and give, and it helps you live
20)But no man can help you die.
• Opposite actions: feast (celebration / happy life) <> fast (sadness) = metaphor
• Feast > symbolic of a happy life
• Fast > symbolic of being alone and not happy
• F-alliteration > to emphasize the opposite actions
• Halls are crowded > emphasizes that everyone will join in the celebrations.
• Comparisons between a happy life and a sad one and the reactions they may provoke.
• And the world goes by > when there is nothing provided no one is bothered. > there is a
sense of alienation / being excluded.
• Success and sharing will give a person joy in life > By giving back you will have a more
rewarding life.
• Death is a solitary experience > Literally we all go through the process of death alone BUT
is also implies that withdrawing from others is a metaphorical death.
21)There is room in the halls of pleasure
22)For a long and lordly train,
23)But one by one we must all file on
24)Through the narrow aisle of pain.
• Halls of pleasure = happiness
• long and lordly train = the procession of people who follow an aristocrat / royalty.
(Happy people attract more friends / followers)
• File on = to walk in a single line, one behind the other
• Aisles – a narrow passage
• The poet describes pain as a “narrow aisle: > In the end people go through pain
alone. Other people can only watch them suffer, but cannot experience their pain
• We must all > implies that everyone will go through pain in .
• Happiness is metaphorically compared to a house with big rooms that can hold
many guests (lordly train), while pain is compared to a “narrow aisle” which
implies a corridor that people have to move through alone.
TONE THEME
• Cynical/ mocking • The relationship between the individual and the
outside world. The poem acts as a “map” on how to
• Sarcastic create your own happiness and face the realities of
• sad the world/
• Solitude : All people exist in a state of solitude/
isolation/ lonliness. Life needs to be tackled with
practicality and self-reliance.

MOOD
• The emotional response to others : Happy people
tend to attract the company and friendship of many
others. Sad people tend to become isolated and
• Reflective lonely because people tend to shy away from
• Melancholic negative emotions.
• sad